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The colonists do have a point - intentionally or not, humans caused the devastation of their planet. Even unintentional near-genocide is a pretty horrifying prospect. Verin is badly written, making it hard to sympathize with his point of view. But the other guest characters are turned around too easily, considering what they’ve been through.

Outstanding episode, Alaimo's performance is Shakespearean and reminiscent of the mad villain Richard III. Descent into madness through grief and loss is psychologically realistic and provides a sound dramatic premise for the episode. Dukat is a tragic hero right up there with the best of them, ambiguous and complex. It's silly that so many in this thread talk about "sympathy" for his character. What a childish and misplaced reaction. Dukat is way larger than life and beyond such pedestrian responses. I feel sympathy for Sisko who comes across as a typical federation sanctimonious prick and for Brooks because Alaimo runs acting rings round him big time.

Here's my review. The full experience (including pictures) can be found at my review blog "captainjonreviews.blogspot.com"

Summary
The U.S.S. Enterprise heads home, damaged from its battle with Khan, and still mourning the death of Spock. When Ambassador Sarek informs Kirk that Spock's soul is being carried by Dr. McCoy and can be restored to his body, Kirk and his crew steal the Enterprise to return to Genesis to save their friend. But when a Klingon bird-of-prey learns of the Genesis planet, its commander sets out to capture the secret of Genesis for the Klingon Empire.

Review
Following the critical and commercial success of The Wrath of Khan, Paramount Pictures was eager to quickly release a sequel and turned to producer Harvey Bennett to make it happen. Though he'd wanted his character to be killed off, Leonard Nimoy's experience making Star Trek II had been extremely positive prompting him to ask to not only return for Star Trek III but to direct as well. Paramount head Michael Eisner agreed, making Nimoy the first Star Trek cast member to serve as director.

Harvey Bennett began work on the script with the intent of bringing Spock back to life using a little opening that had been slipped in at the end of The Wrath of Khan. Bennett started with the end of the movie and worked his way forward. The smartest thing that Bennett did was to not write off Spock's death with a first act resurrection, but instead center the film's entire plot around bringing him back. More importantly, the film's story centers not just on the actions of the Enterprise crew (Kirk especially) but also the price that must be paid to bring back Spock. It grounds The Search for Spock on an emotional level and delivers some of the movie franchise's best performances.

From its opening moments, Nimoy successfully establishes the somber tone that would hold throughout the rest of the movie. Spock may not be there physically but his presence is always felt. It's this tone that sets The Search for Spock apart from the rest of the franchise and adds to the emotional drama that takes place.

The strongest element is the work that's done with Kirk and McCoy and the performances subsequently brought forth by William Shatner and DeForest Kelley. Kirk is not only agonizing over the loss of his best friend but at the early revelation that he is about to lose his "greatest love", the Enterprise, which is set to be decommissioned. McCoy, meanwhile, is not himself. He's behaving strangely and going to bars in an effort to book illegal passage to the Genesis planet. In one of the movie's most amusing scenes, McCoy angrily spouts logic to a Federation security officer before attempting a Vulcan neck pinch. It turns out that Spock's mind-meld at the end of The Wrath of Khan transferred his katra, or soul, to McCoy. This "Vulcan mystism" is a departure for Star Trek from Science-Fiction based storytelling into a borderline straddling of Fantasy elements, yet it's a necessary component of the story in order to bring back Spock that mostly succeeds. Kelley is fantastic in his depiction of a tormented McCoy but his best scene comes at the end as he opens up to an unconscious Spock and admits how much he's missed his friend. It's a touching standout scene.

Once Spock's father, Sarek (a nearly emotional Mark Lenard in his best performance) reveals what's going on, all bets are off for Kirk as he sets out to return Spock and McCoy to Vulcan in order for the katra to be returned. To do so, Kirk tries to get a starship to take him to Genesis to retrieve Spock's body. His request is denied as Genesis is a galactic controversy which with the Federation is grappling. Despite warnings from Starfleet, Kirk jeopardizes his career by both breaking McCoy out of jail, stealing the Enterprise and sabotaging the state-of-the-art Excelsior with the help of his crew in a sequence that mixes humor and suspense. Each character gets a great moment in the sequence, especially George Takei as Sulu and Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, who both relish their rare moment in the spotlight and make the most of it. Mixed with a great cue from James Horner, the sequence is a highlight for the entire franchise.

Offsetting the crew's actions at Earth are the less-successful scenes on Genesis where Saavik (a rather dull and uninteresting Robin Curtis) and David Marcus are exploring the new planet with the Starship Grissom. They discover that the planet is unstable because a David "cheated" in designing the Genesis Device by using an unstable element known as protomatter. Thus, the planet is on it's way to it's own destruction. They also discover a Vulcan child on the planet, a young Spock who has been resurrected by the Genesis Wave and is aging rapidly with the planet. In addition to Curtis's stiff and unconvincing performance, the crew of the Grissom are rather lame. The captain goes purely by the book and can't make his own decision without consulting Starfleet first. Thus, when the Grissom falls at the hands of a Klingon bird-of-prey, it's a rather welcome moment. Saavik, David and Spock must flee the Klingons, led by Kruge who want the secret of Genesis so that they can manipulate it into a weapon. This storyline is not as engrossing and drags down the pace as it frequently cuts back and forth with the superior story involving the Enterprise crew.

These scenes play out in a rather pedestrian and businesslike manner without much inspiration. They're also diminished by a Genesis planet that looks a lot like a soundstage at Paramount Studios. The scenes set in a snowy climate are especially unconvincing. Genesis fails to provide a sense of wonder because it seems to be anything more than indoor sets. It's rather disappointing.

Christopher Lloyd is great a Kruge, bringing a sense of theatricality to a role that's not very well-written and a step back from Khan. Still, Lloyd gives it his all and is a worthy adversary for Kirk as the plot has the two parallel storylines come together in a head on collision. The Enterprise is only manned by a crew of five and is no match for the Klingons, leading to a short exchange of fire between the two ships which leaves the Enterprise crippled and helpless. The standoff between Kirk and Kruge is good, but Kruge has the upper-hand as he holds Saavik, David and Spock hostage. In the first of two of The Search for Spock's big surprises, David is killed by the Klingons in an attempt to prevent them from executing Saavik. In a bit of wonderful acting by William Shatner, Kirk breaks down.

This leads to the next big surprise of the movie; in order to save Saavik and Spock from execution, Kirk surrenders the Enterprise. But, in true Kirk fashion, he sets the auto-destruct. While he and his crew beam down to Genesis, the Klingons beam to the Enterprise and are killed as the starship, in the film's best example of special effects, blows up. The conflict with the Klingons then culminates in a hand-to-hand battle between Kirk and Kruge as the Genesis planet goes up in flames around them. The old-fashioned fist fight is a nice throwback to Kirk's regular brawls on the 60's series and is enhanced by good pyrotechnic work on the collapsing set.

The film's emotional climax comes with the return to Vulcan where Spock's katra is returned to him as Leonard Nimoy reprises his iconic role for the film's final scene. The closing conversation between Kirk and Spock is simple yet powerful and the perfect way to cap Star Trek's most emotional entry.

All of this wouldn't work, however, if not for the pitch perfect performance of William Shatner. The Search for Spock belongs to him from beginning to end and he delivers the goods. He's never over-the-top or too sentimental, giving a very somber and tortured turn as Kirk. His portrayal of Kirk's sacrifice is touching. In order to regain his friend, he must sacrifice everything. Not only does he sacrifice his career but ultimately the Enterprise and his son. When the price paid is questioned by Sarek who just regained his own son, Kirk replies that if he hadn't done what he did, the price would've been his own soul. The writing successfully tackles the emotional consequences and Shatner doesn't miss a beat. It's definitely his best performance as Kirk.

The visuals are mixed. Though the look of the Klingon ship is great and the space shots are all well executed, especially those involving the space dock at Earth, the planet sets are far less convincing. The exception to this is the scenes taking place on Vulcan. If the Genesis sets were as vast and open as the Vulcan scenes, perhaps The Search for Spock would've felt a little more epic in scope.

James Horner's score is a strong entry, using many of his themes from The Wrath of Khan with the melodic "Spock theme" taking the forefront here. His Klingon theme doesn't match that of Jerry Goldsmith and is a little obnoxious at points but still entertaining.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock doesn't try to outdo The Wrath of Khan, nor does it succeed at doing so, but instead proves itself as a strong companion. Though there are some flaws, particularly with the Genesis storyline, the emotional side of the story delivers and makes The Search for Spock an admirable space opera journey.

It is explicitly stated that one can have an Orb experience months or even years after the initial encounter. What were they called... orb flashes? In any case, it is possible the accident triggered and/or enhanced one of these flashes; starting the visions.

I was slightly bothered by the many Predator esque look alikes. The Kradin, the jungle setting, the weaponry. I don't know if they did so on purpose (although I have a hard time imagining it was all just by accident), but I found it harder to get into because of this.
The twist was nice though. Not only did it come unexpectedly, but it was believable and very well portrayed. I particularly liked the ending when Chakotay attempts to clarify what happened to him and Janeway replies that she doesn't know whether or not the Kradin subject the Vori to the atrocities Chakotay was brainwashed to believe or that it was the other way around.
No clear cut bad guys to be found. No black and white morality issues.

A few nitpick moments I had:
-Another shuttle lost. I'm starting to suspect they can replicate those things as easily as they can replicate a meal.
-Why did Janeway turn to Neelix for an explanation of their war? How would he know? Not only is their war taking place beyond the Nekrid expanse, it's taking place beyond Borg space and there's no way in hell Neelix ever passed through Borg space. Wouldn't she be better off hearing about it from the very people that are involved in the war? Neelix's role as their guide ended a while ago, didn't it?
-Why are the Vori so quick to conscript Chakotay, an alien, to their cause? If they crashed his shuttle, shouldn't they be wondering who he is and if his people are going to look for him? Shouldn't they wonder about his technology (which may or may not be more advanced then theirs) and try to use their brainwashing abilities to extract that information from him? Seems to me like knowledge abour more advanced tech is far more usefull then just another soldier in the fray.

Add to the hate list SyFy, which runs promos for upcoming shows EVERY SINGLE FREAKING COMMERCIAL BREAK. And chopping up the show currently being being aired to make more time for the upcoming promos. I love the original Twilight Zone, but can't watch any of the SyFy marathons because I know how badly huge chunks of the show are being cut out to make room for more commercials. KNOCK IT OFF!!

Hmm-well the punch up reminded me of Kirk and Finnegan from Shore Leave-except that fight was part of a very smart story and this fight wasn't smart at all.
T'Pol snogging Trip's face off was rather gratuitous but excusable and I guess the alien in the pod turns out to be a fair way to introduce the unimaginatively named sphere builders who, as Jammer observes, looked like some sort of Suliban.

@Niall, I just wanted to follow up on your comment about David E Sluss and say that the obit you posted was for another person with the same name and similar age. I emailed the Cynic this weekend and he assured me he is alive and well!

A fabulous episode showing the best of ST and among the best TV episodes of any series ever. A kickass female Romulan commander, played pitch perfect by Joanne, provides a splendid counterbalance to one of Leonard's best renderings of Spock ever. Kirk comes off as second best despite an awesome performance too by William. That's what an episode should be, so much excellence all round you don't know where to focus as a viewer. The complexity and dramatic and sexual tension in the Spock-Romulan commander relationship sizzles all round and is electric till the end, especially at the end, episode endings being so often rushed and problematic in ST. My single favourite episode of all time of any series.I watch and rewatch it forever. BRAVO!

Who makes up these totally cockeyed episode reputations? The single most overrated episode, other than DS9 The Visitor, in ST history. A loopy time loop episode. What a waste of the gorgeous Joan Collins! Why couldn't they write a companion piece to Space Seed with Joan a female super human giving Khan Noonien Singh a run for his money, instead of having the ineffectual Madlyn Rue as the quivering weakling female melting at his male chauvinist charms? ST not full of stereotypes? Look again closely!

During the play where Vulcan #11 is at bat, when he hits the ball, the music during this play suddenly made me think of ST Voyager episode Dark Frontier, when the crew boarded the Borg ship to steal a transwarp coil.

It turns out both episodes were scored by David Bell. Nice little piece of music trivia there.

Watching the TOS episodes for the first time, I immediately picked up on Spock's uncharacteristic incessant antagonism in this episode. As a heavy Spock watcher and fan, I found myself defensive at his portrayal in this episode!

I felt that Spock had often, up until this episode, been mostly unwittingly brash when he simply found a character's actions illogical; but in this episode, he seemed to go out of his way to attack the logic of other crew members of the Enterprise.

If only for the misportrayal of Spock, I was terribly annoyed at this episode! It comforts me to know that other fans of the series were similarly upset!

I feel like the Cataati acted a little too extreme, the second time they came around blackmailing Voyager into giving them more then the crew could spare. I realize that they are desperate and that their very survival is at stake, but I'm surprised no one on the crew pointed out that if the Cataati took this much from Voyager, they'd basically be doing to them what the Borg did to the Cataati. Chakotay or Tuvok could have (and should have) pointed out that if the Cataati stole that much from Voyager, they'd be setting them on a path of damnation.

For that matter, why did no one point out that the Cataati are thinking too small? Stealing Voyager's supplies and thorium (or whatever it was they needed) would have bought them a few more months. But as the Cataati themselves point out, Voyager is a more advanced ship with many forms of superior technology. Why not ask them how to make their replicators more effective? How to maximize the potential of their engine systems? You know, stuff that helps your survival in the long run. Seems to me like they could have just asked Voyager for help with long term solutions from the get go.
Instead, Seven has to come up with that idea, out of nowhere. Just didn't sit quite right with me. But I suppose if they did that, there wouldn't have been any cause for drama and the episode would have been dreadfully boring, so then they'd have to find another way to make it interesting, so what do I know?

An interesting episode: a lot of Dukat's rhetoric seemed slightly insincere to me. Like he was saying stuff he didn't believe 100% in order to impress Kira and get inside her knickers. A little like the bitching about her current lover - claiming he had a file on Shakaar's many conquests. One womaniser slagging of another. The technique wasn't subtle, but it was all absolutely in character and well played by Alaimo. Quite rightly Kira didn't fall for most of it, but it seemed to me she was sufficiently seduced to lend Dukat vital assistance against the Klingons. And I bet he had a little private preen over her decision to take his daughter to DS9. 'Now we're closely connected'. I'm sure he was sincerely grateful, and concerned about his daughter, but the way he said it showed just a little preen I thought. As one commenter put it, he's incapable of not hitting on a beautiful woman. A great character: different to Garak, but just as fascinating.

This episode made no sense because the simple solution would be that these people leave the planet they were supposedly stranded on and go back to their own society. They don't make so much as a mention of contacting their home planet, if only out of curiosity. Dax wanting to stay behind was ridiculous and isn't even worth further mention.

The only thing that saved this episode was the Kira/Quark storyline where he's trying to get Kira's holo image so Weyoun -1 can do her on the holodeck.

I am posting my review for TWoK here just as I did for TMP. Please feel free to check out my "full experience" review (pictures) on my blog captainjonreviews.blogspot.com. I'm currently in the process of writing a review for TSFS and hope to post that in the coming days with a review for each film coming as I review them. Enjoy!

Synopsis
Admiral James T. Kirk returns to the U.S.S. Enterprise, which has been turned into a training ship for a group of Starfleet cadets. Unhappy in his new post and not in command of a starship, Kirk struggles with aging and death when an old nemesis, Khan, escapes after fifteen years of imprisonment on a desolate world and seeks revenge on Kirk for the death of his wife.

Review
Despite it's mixed critical reception, the highly anticipated of Gene Roddenberry's most popular creation returned in 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture with a global box office haul of over $130 million. Happy with the movie's success, Paramount Pictures gave the green-light to a sequel. Their biggest stipulation, however, was that it be made for significantly less than the $46 million price tag of the first film. Feeling that his constant request for rewrites added to TMP's soaring budget, Gene Roddenberry was removed from any direct involvement in the sequel. The script he had written in which the Enterprise crew follows a group of Klingons into the past to alter Earth's future by preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy was rejected and Roddenberry was "promoted" to being an executive consultant. With Roddenberry out of the way, Paramount turned to TV producer Harvey Bennett to make Star Trek II despite having never seen an episode of the series. In preparing for the project, Bennett watched all 79 episodes and selected Space Seed as the basis for their story bringing back Ricardo Montalban's Khan in as the villain.

Bennett hired multiple writers who each drafted various versions of the story which involved the return of Khan. Yet, they couldn't settle on a script with which everyone was happy. Thus Bennett turned to writer/director Nicholas Meyer for help. Meyer took the best elements of each script and cobbled them together in his own draft, writing the screenplay for free and uncredited in less than 12 days. Meyer envisioned his film as "Hornblower in space" and highlighted the nautical qualities of the Star Trek series and, more importantly, realized the characters as human.

To accomplish this, Meyer acknowledged the passage of time and allowed the crew of the Enterprise to grow. No longer are our heroes "gallavanting around the cosmos" but are now instructing the next generation of explorers. James T. Kirk, once again an admiral, somberly celebrates his birthday in which Dr. McCoy presents him with a pair of glasses to help him read as he gets older. This little tidbit may seem small but is incredibly significant for the character of Kirk who has always been portrayed as invulnerable. Also introduced is David, Kirk's son with the scientist Carol Marcus. In David, Kirk sees the life he could have had and makes him feel much older. William Shatner's performance is strong and mellow. His confidence is rocky as he grapples with aging but as the story progresses he gradually regains it as he recognizes that with age comes wisdom and experience. Kirk's growth across The Wrath of Khan may not seem very groundbreaking nowadays but in 1982 when many TV characters were static and unchanging, this was incredibly remarkable.

The script not only packs in more characterization than The Motion Picture but adds more action as well. Featuring two of Star Trek's finest space battles, The Wrath of Khan boosts action similar to old sailing ships on the high seas with an emphasis placed on tactical strategy over brute force. This approach is quite fitting with Kirk's character growth as it's through his acceptance of aging and wisdom that he's able to defeat Khan. Though many of the visual effects are reused in much of the film's early scenes, the climactic battle features great FX in the purple-blue clouds of the Mutara Nebula. The action is packed with suspense and thrills that make it quite memorable. Accompanying The Wrath of Khan is a fantastic score by future-Oscar Winner James Horner who captures the beauty and dangers of space in a way that distinguishes the music from Jerry Goldsmith's classic soundtrack without departing too far from that successful template.

Acting-wise The Wrath of Khan is spot on across the board. DeForest Kelley's Dr. McCoy is given a much more prominent role and does well, at his best when sharing the screen with Shatner. James Doohan's Scotty doesn't get much screen time but he makes the most of it, even managing to display more emotion than what we're used to from the miracle worker engineer. Even though some of the supporting characters such as Chekov, Sulu and Uhura don't have much to do, the performances from Koenig, Takei and Nichols are more energetic and a big improvement over The Motion Picture. The additions to the cast are also perfect. Merritt Buttrick not only looks like he could be the offspring of Shatner and Bisch, he also carries his part well. Bibi Besch is also perfect in her limited screen time as Carol Marcus. When Nicholas Meyer cast the role, he wanted someone who could not only convey the brains of a scientist but also someone beautiful enough for the audience to buy that she could once old the heart of James T. Kirk. In Besch, Meyers succeeds. Paul Winfield is good as Captain Terrell, portraying cool and confidence. Considering most "other captains" would later be portrayed as weak to show how much better our captains our, Winfield's performance is welcome.

The two biggest additions to the cast are Kirstie Alley as Saavik and Ricardo Montalban as Khan. Despite portraying a Vulcan, Alley is never stiff and gives the impression that beneath the surface is plenty of sass and wit waiting to bubble to the surface. Alley's Saavik is instantly loveable and fits right in with the series cast. Of course, The Wrath of Khan probably wouldn't be anywhere near as successful as it is without Montalban. He chews the scenery from the moment he appears and never lets up. Though the role is entirely fueled by hate and vengeance, Montalban gives anything but a one-note performance, adding plenty of charm and menace in a role infused with undertones of Captain Ahab. To this day, Ricardo Montalban's Khan is still Star Trek's most memorable villain.

Just as The Wrath of Khan wouldn't be the same without Khan, not would it be without Leonard Nimoy's Spock and the emotional payoff in the movie's climax. In The Motion Picture, Nimoy seemed uninterested in his performance. Wishing to be done with the role of Spock, Nimoy requested his character be killed off. Early drafts featured the death as a surprising twist in the opening act. But here Nimoy features it as the film's emotional climax to great effect, making it not only Star Trek's best character deaths but likely one of the best in all feature films. Nimoy's performance is much more engaged and more along the lines of his portrayal of the character that made him so loved in the 60's series. Spock's death serves not only the plot but also the ultimate character growth of Kirk as he's forced to face death in a way he never has before. Always has Kirk cheated his way out of facing death. But not here as he has to learn a lesson that he tried to teach Saavik early on in the movie; that how you face death is as important as how you face life. It's this deep and insightful exploration of challenging themes that has always been a crucial part of Star Trek and The Wrath of Khan tackles the theme of death like the franchise never had before. Both Shatner and Nimoy are excellent in Spock's death scene in which he makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the ship and crew. Neither is over-the-top, their performances subtle yet powerful. It's a great and emotional scene that is just as powerful today as it was in 1982.

After 33 years, The Wrath of Khan remains the standard which all Star Trek films have strived to achieve, each with their varying levels of success. It's this attempt to emulate what worked in The Wrath of Khan which solidifies it's status as a great movie. Packed with thrilling actions, incredible performances and mature storytelling, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan remains a timeless classic.

Not sure how Montgomery was able to take being addressed like a dog on a leash. But then again Archer is a lot nicer to his damned dog. For that matter so are the producers seeing as how they practically gave him his own episode. And Archer complained about being condescended to by the Vulcans.

One of the things that really bugs me is that there is absolutely NO interaction between Kes and The Doctor considering her departure.
Neelix got one. Janeway got one. Tuvok got one. Doc didn't get anything other the one line where Kes mentions she has to tell him about her leaving and how he won't take it lightly, but then her powers kick in and we never see him respond to her departure.
I was always bothered by that. Kes has a special friendship with him, helping him develop his personality subroutines and she was the first to consider him just as important as any other crewmember and not treat him like a piece of complex technology.
So when the time comes to leave, you'd think they'd put aside a minute or 2 to reflect on their friendship of the past 3 years and give each other a heartfelt goodbye. But nope, nothing. Doc was completely left out in that regard.

On a completely unrelated note, I did like seeing how Voyager slowly but surely lost its Borg modifications over the course of the episode. At the start, you see Voyager still having all kinds of BOrg nodes and implants across various sections of the ship and then they gradually reduced it until at the end of the episode, they only had some minor changed left to make. Pretty clever how they subtly worked that in, showing you the changes slowly. Kudos for that.

More so than any other TOS episode, this is the one were Kirk has been accused by many fans of flagrantly breaking the Prime Directive. I have to disagree with that. The Prime Directive is NOT an absolute, despite what Worf said once in Pen Pals. Kirk was forced into this situation by an ambitious ambassador looking to put another feather in his cap, so I don't think the Prime Directive would require him to allow his crew to be killed. As for the Eminians, they are a warp-capable species, along with the Vendicans, that have been killing each other for centuries. Kirk didn't really "interfere" with their culture, he gave them back what war really is, which forced their leaders into considering peace. Is it a "gray area" of the Prime Directive, definitely, but a one-off case that resulted in something good... Liked this episode a lot, would give it 3.5 stars.

Irony of Ironies. I am in bed reading comments on this episode while listening an episode of the new Hawaii-Five-O playing in the background. (S4:EP4 Netflix). The last scene is shown and they are singing the Minstrel Boy. I was not really paying attention to the scene but they started singing and I had to do a double take.